Patrol

Officer Jason F. Falconer Named NRA 2016 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year

April 25, 2017

The National Rifle Association is honoring Officer Jason F. Falconer of the Avon (MN) Police Department as the 2016 NRA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for his acts of valor and heroism in his quick, life-saving action during an attack at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud/Waite Park, Minnesota in September 2016.

“I am humbled to join the 5 million members of the National Rifle Association in honoring Officer Falconer as the 2016 NRA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for bravery, quick-thinking and heroism,” said NRA President Allan D. Cors. “Officer Falconer is the ultimate example of a law enforcement professional and responsibly armed citizen defending himself and protecting those around him from harm.”

On the evening of September 17, 2016, Officer Falconer was off duty in plain clothes at the Crossroads Mall, co-located in the City of St. Cloud and City of Waite Park.

While shopping, Officer Falconer’s attention was drawn to two loud, sharp noises and saw some shoppers running and screaming. An individual dressed in a security uniform then walked up to him and asked him if he was Muslim. Officer Falconer answered no and as the individual turned Officer Falconer could see that he had a large knife in each hand. Without hesitation or regard for his personal safety, Officer Falconer immediately drew his concealed off-duty handgun, announced he was a police officer and ordered him to drop the knives.

Unbeknownst to Officer Falconer, the subject had started a stabbing spree outside the mall. The suspect then entered the mall and continued his attack, stabbing 10 shoppers and punching many others in the head, back, neck and face.

Rather than dropping the knives, the knifeman turned and ran through the mall and into a crowded major department store with Officer Falconer in pursuit. For some reason the suspect abruptly turned, stopped and then laid down as instructed by Officer Falconer. Seeing that the knifeman had not dropped the knives, Officer Falconer continued ordering him to do so. Just as abruptly as the suspect had stopped, he jumped up and charged Officer Falconer with the knives.

Coming under immediate attack, Officer Falconer fired his pistol several times at the suspect while backing up to create distance between them. The knifeman fell after being struck, but did not drop the knives.

Witnesses confirm that Officer Falconer continued to issue commands to the attacker to stay down and drop the knives while identifying himself as an off-duty officer verbally and displaying his police badge, keeping the knifeman covered at gunpoint.

Just as the incident seemed to be over, the knifeman suddenly recovered and began moving between clothing racks, circling as Officer Falconer continued to order him to drop the knives and get down. The suspect charged, and Officer Falconer fired additional rounds at him head-on. The suspect turned and walked backwards towards the officer, acting as though the rounds could not strike him if he was not facing the officer.

Surveillance videos and witnesses confirmed that after several additional hits the knifeman fell to the floor on his stomach, whereupon he began crawling on his hands and knees towards Officer Falconer, still wielding a knife. The knifeman finally dropped completely to the floor, and Officer Falconer moved to a position to block the knifeman from the open area of the mall until responding police arrived.

Officer Falconer’s heroic actions while off-duty saved lives. His actions are a credit to his department and the community he serves, and are in keeping with the noble profession of our men and women in law enforcement.

The NRA will present the 2016 NRA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award to Officer Falconer at the NRA Board of Directors Meeting during the 2017 NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia later this month.

For more information about NRA’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award and its Law Enforcement Division, call (703) 267-1632 or e-mail [email protected].

Patrol

According to Fox News, 30-year-old Officer Sean Tuder was shot and killed on Sunday afternoon as a group of officers attempted to arrest 19-year-old Marco Perez, who had reportedly faked his own kidnapping to avoid being taken to jail earlier in the week.

Three suspects fleeing police after a residential burglary attempted to navigate their vehicle between the right shoulder barrier and a box truck in the right-hand lane of a Southern California freeway and found themselves pinned between the two immovable objects.

At the beginning of the memorial service for Officer Natalie Corona—the 22-year old officer with the Davis (CA) Police Department who was ambushed and murdered on January 10—the thousands of mourners were surprised when country star Billy Ray Cyrus sat before a microphone and sang a song in her honor.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said on Friday that his state is nearing the point where declaring a disaster may be considered in order to ensure that there are enough troopers on the road to save the lives of individuals involved in traffic collisions on the freeways.

The Kutztown Borough (PA) Police Department received thousands of responses to a request posted to Facebook for three citizen volunteers to help officers in training. The training in question was to help officers learn how to administer Standardized Field Sobriety Tests during suspected DUI traffic stops, and the volunteers would have to be willing to let the department get them drunk.

The school principal and school superintendent who sparked national outrage when they had the school resource officer assigned to the campus escorted off the premises after he ticketed the principal for being illegally parked have each made an attempt to make amends.